Whenever You Need Somebody
by AnimeLuvr12
Summary: A series of dabbles focusing on Sidney Crosby. Potential updates in the future.
1. Bakery

_Whenever You Need Somebody_

~ a series of dabbles ~

 _ **Please leave a review. Reviews help me improve my writing, as well as learn what readers like and dislike about my stories. They are very helpful!**_

* * *

I carefully tapped on the display glass, pointing to the perfect little pineapple upside-down cakes that were casually wedged between a batch of brownies and some chocolate chip cookies.

"I'll take two of these, please," I told Mariah as I beamed with a smile.

Today was game day, and I was about to partake in my usual superstition.

"You think it will happen this time?" She asked me as she grabbed two boxes from underneath the counter.

"I've got my fingers crossed!" Before she could even ring up my order, I pulled a five dollar bill out of my pants pocket and slid it over the shiny metal counter.

"I have a good feeling that today is the day," I told her as I grabbed two forks from the cup that was always perched by the register.

She boxed up the cakes and handed them to me, "You've come in here every day since preseason started. It's been six months. What makes you think today is any different?"

I tapped my chin, "I've just got a lot of hope, is all." My southern accent was a little thick today, but Mariah didn't seem to mind. The first time she heard it, she said it was music to her ears.

I grabbed the two boxes and headed over to my usual seat by the window, right under the neon Pittsburgh Penguins sign. Ever since I moved to Pittsburgh over the summer, I found myself falling more in love with the city. It seemed like everyone here was a Penguins fan. I sighed as I placed the boxes on the table. I had been so hopeful when talking to Mariah, but the walk from the register to the table had drained all of my excitement.

I looked over at my reflection in the glass, and I furrowed my brows. The wind had blown my hair all over the place. I quickly got up and headed to the bathroom in the back, before anyone else saw me looking like Medusa. After I smoothed down my hair, I looked at myself closely in the small mirror. There were small bags under my eyes, my lips were a little pouted, and my cheeks were rosy red. My blue eyes seem dulled, rather than sparkling.

Is this how my depression showed? Did I always look this tired and worn out? I sighed once again. I just need someone by my side, to make things easier.

As I reached to unlock the knob, I heard the chime of the store's front door. I could hear Mariah's joyous tone and the scrape of a chair against the tile. I shrugged it off, not thinking anything of it.

As I opened the door, I saw someone sitting in the chair across from mine.

"What the..." I stalked over to the table and was immediately caught off guard. The man that was sitting at my table was no ordinary man. He was, instead, the most extraordinary man.

"Oh my god. You're... Holy shit. There's no way. Wow! This is crazy! You know how many months I've been waiting for this moment? Do you like pineapple upside-down cakes? Um, wow. I'm so rude. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Serena. It's so nice to finally meet you!" I awkwardly smiled at the hockey player, and stuck my hand out for him to shake.

"I'm so sorry I'm awkward. I can't help it when I'm nervous.." My southern accent came out thicker than a sheet of steele. I blushed at the sound of my voice, and I quickly sat down before I said anything else. I looked over at the man across from me. He was so cute in person, and his awkward half-smile made my heart skip a beat. He didn't know what to say. I think I had shocked him a little bit.

"I guess I should explain. Just stop me if you think I'm talking too much. I moved here before hockey season started. I'm a big Penguins fan, but I'm sure you guessed that," I motioned down to my replica jersey, "Anyways, I started a tradition. More of a superstition, really. Every game day, I buy two cakes. If it's an away game, I take the cakes home and watch the game. If it's a home game, I sit at this table and wait. Hoping that you will come in."

He put his finger up to silence me. There was a moment of hesitation before he started talking.

"You do this every game?"

I nodded.

"What do you do with the cakes that don't get eaten?"

I cocked my head, "I give them to the little kids that live in the house on the corner by my apartment. They absolutely love the pastries from here, but their family can't really afford them."

It was in that moment that a realization struck me.

I was sitting at the same table as Sidney Crosby. Sid the Kid. The famous number 87. One of the best hockey players in the world. Here he was, sitting across from me in a small pastry shop, listening to me ramble on. We were about three feet away from each other, but it felt like we were ten thousand miles apart. When it donned on me that he was someone entirely out of my league, I kind of wanted to slap myself.

With my average looks and average everything else, how could I have even imagined a chance with him? I anxiously tapped my heels on the floor. I suddenly felt the urge to apologize to him.

"I'm so sorry. I feel so stupid for doing this. I just talked your ear off, and now I'm sitting here awkwardly. You don't have to sit here if you don't want to. I can't imagine what Mariah said to you, in order to make you sit here. This is so foolish of me." I looked at Sidney's face for a split second before casting my eyes down.

"She told me that there was a very hopeful, and pretty, young lady who was waiting at this table for me. To be honest, I thought it was a little weird. But after hearing you explain your tradition, I think it's actually kind of sweet that you do that."

Even though Mariah had retreated to the kitchen, I shot a glare in that direction.

When I turned back to Sidney, he had that cute innocent smile plastered on his face. It made my heart melt, as sappy as that sounded.

"I don't know about the pretty part, but I can agree with the hopeful part. I grew up in Texas, and became a hockey fan when I was a freshman in high school. You became my favorite player almost instantly. I graduated from college last year, and I decided to pursue my dreams here in Pittsburgh. That's at least what I tell people. I really came to Pittsburgh for the sole reason of going to every home game. I've heard people talk about seeing the players around the city, and I've been hoping that I get lucky one of these days."

Sidney kind of chuckled, and I wasn't sure why.

"What's so funny?" I nervously asked him.

"Your accent."

I blushed profusely, "My accent? Oh, god, no. Please don't talk about that! It's embarrassing!"

He smiled that adorable smile once again.

"You know, I always wondered why you don't sound like a stereotypical Canadian," I told him as I stared into his deep brown eyes.


	2. Season Ticket

_Whenever You Need Somebody_

~ a series of dabbles ~

 _ **Please leave a review. Reviews help me improve my writing, as well as learn what readers like and dislike about my stories. They are very helpful!**_

* * *

I had spent the last three days deep cleaning the house, in hopes that my doorbell wouldn't ring until the place was completely spotless. Every year, the players hand-deliver season tickets. I had moved to Pittsburgh this summer solely for the reason of being able to attend all the home games, and you better believe I had gotten a season ticket. My view consisted of the Penguins bench and the back of each player's jersey. I would always be looking for number 87. To say I was excited would be putting it lightly, seeing as I had been looking forward to this day for years. I had even taken few days off of work at the research center, just to make sure I didn't miss my ticket being delivered.

I was casually lounging on the sofa playing my Super Nintendo when the doorbell rang. My heart immediately started to race.

Was it them? Which players would it be?

I prayed that it would be Sidney, but I knew my luck wasn't that good. I quickly dashed over to the door, and looked in the mirror by the coat rack. I fixed my hair, and took a few deep breaths.

"You can do this," I repeated a few times to myself.

A few more deep breaths, and I slowly opened the door. There, on my porch, stood Sid the Kid. My jaw slightly dropped and my eyes grew as wide as pucks. To my surprise, his eyes grew just as wide in return.

"Hi, uh, are you Marina Kingsbury?"

I couldn't even speak, so I just dumbly nodded my head and moved out of the way so that the montage of people could enter my home. There was Sid, a new rookie player that had just been traded to us, and two PR people with their phones out. No doubt updating Facebook and Snapchat for the team's account.

The music from Super Mario World was still blasting from the speakers on my TV, so I quickly fumbled for the remote and muted it. The silence was almost deafening.

"Sorry about that," I stuttered, "I was in the middle of a speed run."

Sid quickly apologized, but he seemed a little confused as to what I was talking about.

I shook my head, "Oh, it's okay. I can always restart it. So, um, season ticket, huh?"

Sid laughed nervously, "Oh, right!"

He pulled it out of the envelope that the rookie handed to him. One of the PR personnel motioned for us to stand closer, and I could feel my face heating up faster than an oven.

"Just need a couple of pictures," She excitedly told us, "We can even take some on your phone for you."

I fished my phone out of my back pocket and tossed it to the rookie. Sid wrapped his large arm around my small shoulders, and I took a small step closer to him. I could feel my body shaking, and my nerves were starting to get the best of me.

"Alright, on the count of three," The PR lady held up the phone and I put on the best smile that I could muster, "One, two, three!"

I could hear the camera shutter clicking a few times. Whenever she lowered the phone, I exhaled the breath that I didn't know I had been holding.

"So, you do speed runs? Do you do them for Games Done Quick?" The rookie asked me.

I cocked my head, surprised that he knew about GDQ.

"Actually, yes. I've competed in the past with some Castlevania games. I'm really just doing Super Mario World for fun."

The rookie seemed really impressed at my video game collection, which was neatly displayed on the shelves that were built into the wall behind the TV. He shuffled over there, awing at some of the good titles.

"You have such an awesome collection! Some of these are hard to find. How long did it take you to get all of these?"

I scratched the back of my head, "Well, it's been a few years. I think I started in 2010? I started doing GDQ when I was in college, so that's when I started collecting."

I turned to Sid, and he seemed just as awestruck as the rookie, but not by the games. I quickly realized that he was looking behind me at the poster of himself that I had hung up in a sleek black frame. I mentally slapped myself for not taking it down. He was smiling at me, and I was confused as to why. Did he like the fact that he's my favorite player?

"Would you mind demonstrating your speed run skills with one of the Castlevania games? I'd love to see you in action," The rookie asked.

I nodded, "Sure, I don't see why not."

I trotted over to the NES shelf and got the first Castlevania game.

"I've done this one in about 17 or 18 minutes. The most recent GDQ record is 15 minutes. I still have quite a ways to go," I looked at the PR people who were standing around, "I hope this is okay. I'm sure y'all have a lot of other people to go see."

The lady shook her head, "Actually you're the last person on the list for Sidney, so you're good."

I offered all of them seats, and I went into the kitchen to get them water bottles. When I came back, the rookie had already started up the game and took a seat on the couch. There was a spot for me between him and Sidney. I sat down nervously, and I grabbed the controller.

"Alright, can one of you time me?" I noticed that Sid already had his timer app open, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Count me down from three, please."

Sid counted down, and I pushed the start button.

.

.

"And stop the timer."

Sid pushed the button, and showed it to me.

"16 minutes and 32 seconds. That's better than what you originally said your time was. Congrats."

His smile was almost too much to bear.

"Thank you," I said nervously.

The rookie patted me on the shoulder. "We'll have to hang out sometime again, so that I can watch you speed run more games. That was too awesome!"

I slowly nodded. What an awkward situation to be in.

"Alright, guys. Sorry to break up the fun, but it's almost time for practice," The PR lady stated as she and the other guy got up. The rookie seemed pretty bummed, but he whipped out his phone.

"Hey, is it okay if I get your number? My little brother is big into retro video games and watching speed runs, so I know he would love to meet you sometime."

I nodded once again, "Yeah, that would be awesome."

As I relayed my number to him, I failed to notice Sidney Crosby nonchalantly typing my number into his phone, too.


	3. Home Game

_Whenever You Need Somebody_

~ a series of dabbles ~

 _ **Please leave a review. Reviews help me improve my writing, as well as learn what readers like and dislike about my stories. They are very helpful!**_

* * *

I stared down at the bench from my seat, catching a quick glimpse of an angry Sidney as he slammed his stick down on the ledge of the boards. I winced when it snapped like a twig.

"I would be angry too, seeing as the ref didn't call that hit. Sid could have really gotten hurt."

I looked over at my mom, who was perched on the edge of her seat and clad in the famous black and gold.

I nodded in agreement and turned my attention back to the captain as he spoke to Beau Bennett and Evgeni Malkin, who were sitting on either side of him. He still seemed pretty mad, but his teammates were reassuring him that he could get Ovechkin back later on. I saw Sidney nod and pat Geno on the shoulder, probably thanking the Russian for getting him to cool his jets.

The clock was slowly ticking down to zero as the Penguins rushed around on the ice, fast as lightning, trying to put the puck in the net. Right as Sidney got ready to get back on the ice, the buzzer rang and the first period was over.

The Pens were up 2-1, and I was in a pretty good mood so far. My mom hurried off to the concession stand for some extremely cheesy nachos and a large soda. Right after she left, I made my way over to the tunnel in hopes of getting a quick glimpse of the team as they made their way back to the locker room.

When I sauntered up to the ledge, I looked down to find the captain staring right back at me. A fierce dark blush immediately settled on my face and I could feel my heart hammering away underneath the C that was emblazoned on my replica jersey. We kept our eyes locked until he passed me, but I could still feel his stare even after I went back to seat.

My face felt like it was on fire and my ears seemed to be burning hot like coals in a fire pit. All those romance novels of my mother's that I had sneaked peeks of were right. That first look really was electrifying. It was almost like someone had taken a defibrillator and tried to jump-start my heart. My pulse was erratic, and my heart was jumping around my chest like a kid in a bouncy house. My mind was racing, and it was incredibly difficult to focus my eyes on one spot.

"Holy shit," I murmured under my breath, "That was insane."


End file.
